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Several hundred workers in Myanmar stage protest to seek higher daily minimum wage

Associated Press
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Myanmar factory workers march protesting against proposed minimum wage at Hlaingtharyar industrial zone, suburb of Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, July 12, 2015. Several hundred workers in Myanmar staged a peaceful demonstration Sunday to demand that a new daily minimum wage be set higher than proposed. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) (The Associated Press)

Myanmar factory workers shout slogans during a march against proposed minimum wage at Hlaingtharyar industrial zone, suburb of Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, July 12, 2015. Several hundred workers in Myanmar staged a peaceful demonstration Sunday to demand that a new daily minimum wage be set higher than proposed. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) (The Associated Press)

Myanmar factory workers shout slogans during a march against proposed minimum wage at Hlaingtharyar industrial zone, suburb of Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, July 12, 2015. Several hundred workers in Myanmar staged a peaceful demonstration Sunday to demand that a new daily minimum wage be set higher than proposed. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) (The Associated Press)

Several hundred workers in Myanmar have staged a peaceful demonstration to demand that a new daily minimum wage be set higher than proposed.

The factory workers protesting Sunday in a northern suburb of Yangon, the country's largest city, want the daily minimum wage to be set at 4,000 kyat ($3.54) rather than the 3,600 kyat ($3.18) proposed by the National Minimum Wage Committee last month following negotiations between the government, employers and employees.

The current daily minimum wage is 3000 kyat ($2.65).

Factory owners say a wage hike will affect their ability to operate, and some Chinese and Korean-owned garment factories have threatened to shut down if it is implemented.